Entertainment
'The Batman' prequel series 'Gotham P.D.' will hit HBO Max before the movie.

Robert Pattinson's 'The Batman' Movie Is Getting A Prequel Series On HBO Max

by Dylan Kickham
Warner Bros.

After DC's Fandome event on Saturday, Aug. 22, revealed the first footage of Robert Pattinson as Batman, the hype for the caped crusader's new iteration is at an all-time high. And now, there's actually even more for fans to get excited about. The gritty new movie is also getting a companion TV series on HBO Max, and director Matt Reeves revealed a ton of new details about the show during the Fandome panel. Most importantly, Reeves announced when the show will take place, and it turns out HBO Max's Gotham P.D. will be a The Batman prequel, so fans can expect it to provide a lot more context for the movie while also expanding the cinematic universe.

HBO Max had already announced the upcoming spinoff series in July, but the only details the streamer revealed were that the show would be a police procedural set in Gotham and that it's connected to The Batman movie. Most fans assumed the show would pick up after the events of the film to open the universe up to future adventures for Batman and the countless other heroes and villains within the DC Comics world, but Reeves shocked the fandom by revealing the show will actually take place before the events of The Batman.

"The idea is we go back to Year 1 and Year 1 is the beginning," Reeves said. "It’s the first appearance of this masked vigilante that unsettles the city." The writer/director confirmed The Batman will take place during Bruce Wayne's second year embracing his vigilante alter-ego, so the HBO Max series will depict a Gotham that is only just meeting Batman.

Unfortunately, Reeves did not clarify whether fans can expect Robert Pattinson's moody take on Bruce Wayne to show up in the spinoff show, but he did tease some details about the series protagonist: "You start to see the story through the point of view of these corrupt cops, and one in particular. The story is actually a battle for his soul."

Reeves referred to Batman's role in the show as "a myth ... building in the background," so it sounds like if Pattinson does show up, it may only be in brief cameo appearances.

There's no word yet on when the spinoff show will hit HBO Max, but it will likely debut sometime around The Batman's Oct. 1, 2021, premiere.